Ear Tipped and NOT Neutered? What?

Well, its a new one for me. Last year I got one of the "newcomers" to the colony fixed, A few days later a twin brother showed up with an ear tip. I didn't bother to check to see if he had ACTUALLY been neutered. Just assumed with an ear tip he must have been. WRONG. Three days ago happened to be on my hands and knees (my usual position these days!) when he walked by. He is NOT neutered. Now how could that happen? Any ideas out there from you all? Why would someone ear tip a cat and not have them neutered? Could he have been missed in a shuffle at a neuter clinic? All ideas, thoughts welcomed.

The "ear tipping" may be due to an injury/accident. It 's not common practice where we live, in fact as illegal as cropping dogs's ears or docking their tails, but you still occasionally encounter cats with an ear that looks like it was surgically tipped.

That could explain it, but this is definitely a Feral cat, and the cut looks perfectly clean and done just as all other ear tipping done here in California. He also seems to be one of a new group of Feral cats that is finding my colony. Four of them (all yellow) have turned up over the last year. 

And, it seems strange to have such a clean cut at the exact location for a tipping. And, doesn't it seems strange that a Feral would have some kind of ear injury from say a fight or something, get trapped, cared for, taken to a vet, then re-released without getting it neutered? I don't know. Any other ideas?

One other question, how are neutered cats in your area identified if ear tipping is not done?

You can often tell whether the males were neutered by their (lack of) spraying and/or the smell of their urine. They're trapped regardless, because they still need to be inoculated, tested for FeLV and FIV, and to have their teeth checked. Females are shaved by the vet, and if no scar is found, an ultrasound can be done. In other words, they're trapped and anesthesized, because otherwise they can't be examined and treated.

This cat still has his balls (to be frank). So maybe that should be the question. Can balls grow back? 

Here in California it is simply not possible that a Feral Cat was trapped, tested, ear tipped and NOT Neutered! Just wouldn't happen under any circumstances. The only possibility is that he was forgotten at a clinic, or that his balls grew back.

With a colony of 50 Feral Cats it is pretty impossible for me to follow one cat around to see if he is spraying and if it smells like a Feral Cat.

I was hoping some of the Feral Cat Colony managers would respond since they might have seen something like this.

Thanks so much for your help in trying to figure out what might have happened.

Someone asked this question on Ask the Cat Doctor..  Here's the answer they got. 

Many male cats still have the appearance of having testicles due to the way the surgery is performed. Only the testicles are removed. The multi-layer sheath that surrounds the testicles is left as well as the scrotal skin. Once healed, this can give the appearance of testicles when actually it's just layers of tissue and skin.

Thank you for writing,
Dr. Neely

Click to expand...

fwiw..  When I had my male dogs neutered it still looked like they had testicles too, and what's even worse is that they were still going after the female.  I called the doc in a panic and he said not to worry and that once those hormones get out of their body they'll stop and they did.  

 So the feral you're caring for might be neutered.  It just may be excess skin.  

My big neutered grey and white looks like he is still intact, he has skin and marble sized pouches back there. If you are positive he is intact, I would bet on an accident that tipped his ear, or maybe he had a vasectomy?

My male looks like he has balls but he does not